


Desperately Seeking Susan Grimshaw

by Apple_Bottom_Beans



Category: Red Dead Redemption (Video Games)
Genre: Backstory, F/M, tags will be added as story progresses
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-09-27
Updated: 2020-09-26
Packaged: 2021-03-07 17:00:50
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 648
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26671048
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Apple_Bottom_Beans/pseuds/Apple_Bottom_Beans
Summary: This is just Susan’s life story. Chapters are super short but some may be more fleshed out with dialogue and detail.
Comments: 4
Kudos: 5





	1. The Eldest of Seven Girls

Being the eldest of seven girls was never easy. Especially, in a lower-middle class family that could barely pay the rent on time. There were always chores to be done, lessons to learn, and men to be courted by. Her sisters got away with slacking but Susan couldn’t.

As the eldest, it was her job to marry rich. Her parents never let her forget that. All the chores and lessons and men were meant to refine her and make her a fine wife.

It was only a matter of finding a man that would have her. One that would provide for her.

In her parents eyes, at least. But Susan wanted a man that would love her as well as provide for her. Luckily enough, she didn’t have to look very far to find him.

Thomas Clarkson. He was the son of some big rancher, and though his father could buy dozens of workers, the young man always insisted on doing at least part of the work himself. That’s part of the reason he drew Susan in.

She was sixteen when they met. Seventeen when he proposed. Eighteen when he died.


	2. The Necklace

In Susan’s later years, she’s known for two things appearance wise: Her pompadour hairstyle, and her cameo necklace.

But only one sticks with her after death.

That necklace. That beautiful necklace.

It had been a gift from her Thomas. Given to her hours before his death. It hadn’t been planned. Obviously not. No one plans to die a death like that. So violent. So gruesome.

It was written off as an accident, but Susan knew better. Thomas had always been careful when it came to the bulls. He always locked the gate. Always.

Until the day he didn’t.

She knew, of course, that he wouldn’t do such a thing. The lock had been tampered with. But by who? She knew who.

Reilly’s boys.

Days prior to the incident — to the murder — she saw them storming out to their horses. She asked Thomas why but he assured her it was none of her concern, and so she let it be.

She shouldn’t have; but it was too late to think of what should have been.

It was then, as Susan held him and watched the blood pour from his stomach, that she decided the Reilly boys would pay. The question was: how? She couldn’t use a gun any better than she could read - which wasn’t very well.

The answer was handed to her a week after, when Thomas’ father gave her a small sum of money. The funds were meant to support her until a new suitor was found - but she would never find one. No one could replace her Thomas.

Instead, she took the money to the saloon and paid for their removal. From the earth. Days later they were confirmed dead, and Susan took her leave. There was nothing left for her in that town.


	3. No One’s In a Hurry to Hire a Maid

There was nothing left for her in that town.

Or any town, for that matter. Well, not entirely true. They offered an escape from the memory of Thomas, which haunted her every moment in town. Anywhere else would be paradise.

And she believed that.

Until she didn’t.

Women were good for two things - cleaning and sex; and no one was in a hurry to hire a maid.

It was difficult, at first - letting a man take her for a few measly cents. But what other choice did she have? None.

She told herself that she would simply save money and wait for an opportunity to eventually leave and be done with the whole ordeal. However, days turned to weeks, and weeks to months, and months to years, and still, no opportunity presented itself.

Until it did, and a tall, dark-haired conman type approached her. Neither he nor she realized how important he would be to her escape. And to her life.


End file.
